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The Best Interests Of The Children
Room in the Nest follows a swan husband and wife who open up their nest and hearts to all the bird children in need for as long as necessary. What was the inspiration for your story?
I adopted my son a few years ago, and we stay in touch with his lovely foster carers. We’ve seen several children come into their care, some of whom have been reunited with their birth families, some of whom have been moved into kinship placements. My son understands that we adopted him, so he started to ask questions about why his foster siblings and other children looked after by his foster carers ended up in different sorts of families.
What were the morals you were trying to capture while creating your characters?
The moral is that children need to be kept safe, and the most important theme throughout the story is that all of the adults pictured have the best interests of the children at heart. The social worker character, Caring Goose, seeks advice from the Wise Owl, who makes suggestions to ensure that lots of options are considered before a child is removed from their family. The Wise Owl also ensures that the children are placed with family members when possible, or that a suitable adoptive family is found, but there are recurrent reminders throughout the book that the foster carers are there to help any children who need to be loved and looked after throughout these periods of uncertainty.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
I wanted to help normalise all of these different family structures and help children to understand the basics of foster care, in an accessible way.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next story is created to help children to understand that making a few bad choices doesn’t make them a bad person, to try to help children who find themselves labelled as the “bad kid” at school, to see that they are not intrinsically “bad” and they can make kind choices. I am working on the illustrations now, and plan to publish it this Winter.
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Mr and Mrs Swan build a big nest, so that they have plenty of room to help anyone who needs them. Teach children about different kinds of foster care, with this touching tale of fostering placements leading to kinship care, reunification, adoption and long term foster care. This inclusive story can be used as a therapeutic tool to help care-experienced children to process their experiences, or as an effective teaching aid to normalise and explain foster care and other family structures to all children.
Room in the Nest
Room in the Nest by Holly Marlow is a beautifully written story about foster care for preschoolers and young elementary-age children. First, Mr. and Mrs. Swan build a giant, comfortable nest with enough room for themselves and anyone needing a safe place to stay. Then, one day, Caring Goose comes by and asks them if they have room to take in Baby Pigeon for a few days while her mom makes her house safe. They, of course, agree to help out. This is the start of the Swan’s ongoing mission to help other little birds that, for one reason or another, need a safe and loving place to stay, no matter if it was a few days or a few years.
Holly Marlow has written a children’s book that explains in child-friendly terms what foster care is and some of the many reasons why children may end up in foster care. This magnificent story shows sensitivity to the topic and complicated feelings surrounding foster care. She explains how the Caring Goose always tries to help the parents out first and give them guidance and that she is not trying to rip families apart but instead shows compassion and works to try and keep families together. Still, sometimes that is not always best for the children.
Room in the Nest is a heartwarming picture book that teaches children about foster care, foster placements, long-term fostering, kinship care, reunification, adoption, and a broad look at family court. This is a beautiful story to share with children that have to go through this process to help ease their fears and for other children to understand what happens if someone they know goes into foster care. This honest and beautiful look at the system is a much-needed resource for families, teachers, social workers, and anyone working with troubled families.
Pages: 25 | ASIN : B0BBBRWLMS
LITERARY TITAN 